This council, designated as the eighth
ecumenical council by western canonists, is not found in any canonical collections of the
Byzantines; its acts and canons are completely ignored by them. Modern scholars have shown
that it was included in the list of ecumenical councils only later, that is, after the
eleventh century. We have decided to include the council, for the sake of historical
completeness.

Emperor Basil I and the patriarch Ignatius, after being restored to his see of
Constantinople, asked Pope Nicholas I to call a council to decide about the bishops and
priests who had been ordained by Photius. It was held at Constantinople after the arrival
of legates from Pope Hadrian II, who had meanwhile succeeded Nicholas. These legates were
Donatus, Stephen and Marinus and they presided at the council. It began in the cathedral
of Hagia Sophia on 5 October 869. The tenth and last session was held on 28 February 870,
when 27 canons were read out and approved by the council. All who were willing to sign the
Liber satisfactionis, which had been sent by Pope Hadrian II, were admitted to the
council. The account made by Anastasius contains the authentic list of those who signed
the acts of the council. Emperor Basil I and his sons, Constantine and Leo, signed the
acts after the patriarchs and in the same year they promulgated the council's decisions,
after drawing up a decree for this purpose.

As regards the canonical authority of these deliberations, various facts regarding the
council held in the cathedral of Hagia Sophia in November 879, so that Photius might be
restored to the see of Constantinople, should be remembered. Peter, a Roman cardinal,
presided at this council. It took account of a letter of Pope John VIII, which had been
sent to the emperor and translated into Greek. This reads (chapter 4): "We declare
that the synod held at Rome against the most holy patriarch Photius in the time of the
most blessed pope Hadrian, as well as the holy synod of Constantinople attacking the same
most holy Photius (i.e., in 869-870), are totally condemned and abrogated and must in no
way be invoked or named as synods. Let this not happen". Some people have thought
that this text had been altered by Photius; but in the so-called "unaltered"
text of the letter this passage is replaced by dots (. . .), and the following passage
reads: "For the see of blessed Peter, the key-bearer of the heavenly kingdom, has the
power to dissolve, after suitable appraisal, any bonds imposed by bishops. This is so
because it is agreed that already many patriarchs, for example Athanasius .. .. after
having been condemned by a synod, have been, after formal acquittal by the apostolic see,
promptly reinstated". Ivo of Chartres explicitly affirms: "The synod of
Constantinople which was held against Photius must not be recognised. John VIII wrote to
the patriarch Photius (in 879): We make void that synod which was held against Photius at
Constantinople and we have completely blotted it out for various reasons as well as for
the fact that Pope Hadrian did not sign its acts". Ivo adds from the instructions
that John VIII gave to his legates for the council in 879: "You will say that, as
regards the synods which were held against Photius under Pope Hadrian at Rome or
Constantinople, we annul them and wholly exclude them from the number of the holy
synods". For these reasons there is no ground for thinking that the text was altered
by Photius.

An authentic copy of the acts of the council of 869-870 was sent to Rome, as of right.
Anastasius, the librarian, ordered a complete copy to be made for himself. Then, when the
legates' copy was stolen, he translated his own copy into Latin, on Pope Hadrian's orders,
making a word for word translation. Anastasius also makes it plain that the Greeks adopted
every means to distort the acts, "by abbreviating here and by expanding or changing
there". He adds: "Whatever is found in the Latin copy of the acts of the eighth
synod is completely free from the alloy of falsehood; however, whatever more is found in
the Greek text is thoroughly infected with poisonous lies".

The Greek text has been partly preserved from total destruction in the summary of an
anonymous writer who copied out anti-Photian texts. This summary has 14 canons, as opposed
to the 27 of Anastasius, and only contains excerpts, dealing with the most important
points, of these canons. Where comparison is possible, the Latin version of Anastasius
hardly departs from the Greek text. Indeed it is so literal that at times it can only be
understood by comparison with the Greek text, and when the latter is missing we must
sometimes rely on conjecture.

The English translation is from the Latin text, for the reasons mentioned above. The
material in curly brackets { } has been added by the hypertext editor, as also has some of
the formatting

Definition Of The Holy And Universal Eighth Synod

The holy, great and universal synod, which was assembled by God's will and the favour
of our divinely approved emperors Basil and Constantine, the holy friends of Christ, in
this royal and divinely protected city and in the most famous church bearing the name of
holy and great Wisdom, declared the following.

The Word, of one nature with the almighty God and Father, is he who established heaven
like a vault and fixed the ends of the earth and the place of all other things. He made it
to be contingent and he rules, preserves and saves it. He says through the voice of the
prophet, Isaiah: Lift up your eyes to heaven, because heaven has been fashioned like
smoke, but the earth shall wear out like a garment; its inhabitants shall perish like
them; but my salvation shall last for ever and my justice shall not fail. He was made like
us for our sake and has established on earth heavenly justice and said, Heaven and earth
shall pass away but my words shall not pass away. He said to all who believed in him: If
you continue in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth and
the truth will make you free.

It was our God and Lord of infinite power alone who, just like a farmer of supreme
wisdom and power, uprooted and scattered and rightfully obliterated many others from an
earlier time and from long ago who, given over to lies and in opposition to the truth,
were sowing -- to use the gospel image -- evil tares in his field, that is, in the church,
and were trying to overwhelm the pure grain of divine justice. He always prepared his
manner of deliverance so as to give warning, he established his justice and revealed it
with greater clarity. But nevertheless, in our time too, the sower of tares is trying to
make the field of the church useless through some utterly depraved and impious people.
With that one and the same providence, he has shown that this field is worthy of
compassion and snatched it from the filth of iniquity and called it back to its ancient
purity. For, to destroy injustice and reinforce divine justice, he has raised up, as an
unwavering follower of his commandments, a person proved to be incorrupt in both his
knowledge and his maintenance of the truth, our most devout and serene emperor, who is a
friend of divine justice and an enemy of injustice. He, by means of the divine help and
the overall favour of the church, has gathered together architects from the ends of the
earth into this royal city, which must be built up by God, and has assembled a universal
synod which, while guarding the strong defences of

 the gospel sanctions,
 the laws of Moses and the prophets together with
 the commands of the apostles
 and fathers as well as of
 the councils,

has revived the established forms of right conduct and proclaimed truth and justice in
the courts of the church.

{Now the customary recapitulation and reassertion of all previous ecumenical councils}

Consequently, all of us bishops who have come to take part in the synod and to
strengthen the true and undefiled faith of Christians and the teaching of orthodox
religion, we declare our belief in one God, in three persons consubstantial, divine and
autonomous, as, for example, we may look at the one nature of light in three suns not
unlike each other or in the same number of dazzling objects. We confess, indeed, God to be
one, unique in respect of substance, but threefold or three if we are speaking of him in
respect of persons, and we declare he has not received from himself that he has been made,
nor in any way whatsoever from anyone else; but that he is alone, ever existing without
beginning, and eternal, ever the same and like to himself, and suffering no change or
alteration, that he exists as the maker and source of all beings endowed with intelligence
and feeling. For the holy and great synod of { 1 } Nicaea spoke thus when expounding the
creed: Light from light, true God, clearly declaring the Son to be from the Father who is
true God, and the rest as the catholic church received it. We too, accepting this in the
identical meaning, anathematize as of unsound mind and an enemy of the truth, Arius and
all who, with him and following him, speculate with faulty perceptions on the term
"hetero-substantial", that is otherness of substance and unlikeness, with
reference to the divinely-ruling and blessed Trinity. But no less do we accept the second,
holy and universal synod {2 Constantinople I}, and we anathematize that adversary of the
Spirit or rather adversary of God, Macedonius; for we admit in the distinction of persons
no difference of substance between the Father, the Son and the divine and autonomous
Spirit, as the aforementioned heresiarchs did, nor do we confuse, like the lunatic
Sabellius, the persons in one and the same substance. Moreover, we also confess that the
unique Word of God became incarnate and was made like us for our sake, for it was not an
angel or an envoy but the Lord himself who came and saved us and was made Emmanuel with
us; and he was true God, God of Israel and saviour of all, in accordance with the divine
and prophetic utterances. For this reason we confess that Mary, most holy and without
experience of marriage, who bore him, is properly and truly mother of God, just as the
third universal synod, which first assembled at { 3 } Ephesus, proclaimed. In union with
that council we too anathematize Nestorius, that worshipper of the man and most
self-opinionated individual who possessed a Jewish mentality. We teach that the one and
same Christ and Lord is twofold, that is, perfect God and perfect man, possessing in one
person the differences of each nature but keeping their properties always unchangeable and
unconfused, just as the fourth, holy and universal synod {4 Chalcedon } solemnly taught.
In accepting this synod together with the three councils previously enumerated, just like
the quadruplicity of the holy gospels, we anathematize the insane Eutyches and the mad
Dioscorus. In addition, proclaiming the two natures in the one Christ, according to the
still clearer teaching of the fifth, holy and universal synod { 5 Constantinople II}, we
anathematize Severus , Peter and Zoharas the Syrian, as well as Origen with his useless
knowledge, Theodore of Mopsuestia and Didymus along with Evagrius, who also, although of
the same or different opinions, were ensnared in the same pit of damnation.

Further, we accept the sixth, holy and universal synod {6 Constantinople III}, which
shares the same beliefs and is in harmony with the previously mentioned synods in that it
wisely laid down that in the two natures of the one Christ there are, as a consequence,
two principles of action and the same number of wills. So, we anathematize Theodore who
was bishop of Pharan, Sergius, Pyrrhus, Paul and Peter, the unholy prelates of the church
of Constantinople, and with these, Honorius of Rome, Cyrus of Alexandria as well as
Macarius of Antioch and his disciple Stephen, who followed the false teachings of the
unholy heresiarchs Apollinarius, Eutyches and Severus and proclaimed that the flesh of
God, while being animated by a rational and intellectual soul, was without a principle of
action and without a will, they themselves being impaired in their senses and truly
without reason. For if the one and same Christ and God exists as perfect God and perfect
man, it is most certain that none of the natures which belong to him can exist partially
without a will or without a principle of action, but that he carried out the mystery of
his stewardship when willing and acting in accordance with each substance; this is how the
chorus of all God's spokesmen, having knowledge of it from the apostles down to our own
time, have constructed a colourful representation of that human form, assigning to each
part of the one Christ natural properties distinct from each other, by which the meanings
and conceptions of his divine nature and of his human nature are believed beyond all doubt
to remain without confusion.

We also know that the seventh, holy and universal synod, held for the second time at {
7 } Nicaea, taught correctly when it professed the one and same Christ as both invisible
and visible lord, incomprehensible and comprehensible, unlimited and limited, incapable
and capable of suffering, inexpressible and expressible in writing. In agreement with that
synod, this holy and universal synod publicly anathematizes Anastasius , Constantine and
Nicetas , that irrational prelature whose name stinks, or, to put it better, that plain
corruption; so too Theodosius of Ephesus, Sisinnius Pastilas and Basil Tricacabus, not
forgetting Theodoret, Antony and John, once prelates of new Rome, the royal city of
Christians, but better called defamers of Christ. They declared by word and deed that,
despite what the list of prophets proclaimed about Christ, he had been incapable of
destroying the statues of the idols. Furthermore, we also anathematize Theodore, who was
called Krithinos, whom this great and holy synod summoned and condemned and loudly dinned
an anathema into his ears. Similarly we anathematize all those who agreed with or
supported those who said that the Word of the divine incarnation came about and existed by
fantasy and supposition, indeed that through the removal of the image of our Christ and
saviour there came the simultaneous removal of the accepted form of the true body which
bore God within it. Everything which cannot be grasped by the imagination is surely to be
understood in two ways, either as not existing or as in fact existing but minimally
understandable, inasmuch as being invisible and hidden.

Therefore, if anyone happens to have taught any of these things about Christ the God
and saviour of us all, he will be clearly proclaimed an enemy of true religion, since the
first of these declares that Emmanuel was not truly made man and the second declares that
he was indeed man but lacked human qualities, laid aside the flesh he assumed and had
recourse in everything to his divine [nature] and to his incomprehensibility; this is
alien to all the divinely inspired scriptures, which also clearly state that he will come
once more as judge of all, and he is to be seen in the same way as he was seen by his
disciples and apostles when he was taken up into heaven.

That theory is full of Manichaean ideas and ungodliness inasmuch as it foolishly
declares that a saying of the divinely inspired David was spoken about Christ, in which it
says, He has set his tabernacle in the sun, since this impiety supposes that the casting
off and laying aside of the Lord's deified body is meant. But the word of truth
confidently says, both concerning the well-named Manes and all those who share his thought
and are authors of the heresy about the destruction of icons and all other heresiarchs and
enemies of religion: They have not known nor understood, but they walked in darkness. 0
you who abandon the right way and walk in the way of darkness, who rejoice in wrongdoing
and exult in evil conversion; O you whose paths are evil and steps crooked so that they
take you far from the right way and make you foreign to right thinking! Again, those who
sowed what was corrupted by the wind have received destruction as their reward; and again,
He that trusts in lies feeds the winds: and the same person runs after birds that fly
away. For he has abandoned the rows of his vines, he wanders in the furrows of his field;
for he wanders through a waterless desert and a great parched plain, yet gathers no fruit
in his hands.

For this reasons [the church] brands all these with an anathema and, besides
recognizing the seven, holy and universal synods already enumerated by us, has gathered
together this eighth universal synod through the grace of our all powerful Christ and God
and the piety and zeal of our most serene and divinely strengthened emperor, to cut down
and destroy the shoots of injustice that have sprung up against those synods, together
with the evil stirrings and influences, in order to bring about peaceful order in the
church and stability in the world. For it is not only the removal of true teaching which
knows how to destroy those of evil mind and to agitate and disturb the church, but also
quibbling over the meaning of the divine commandments equally brings the same destruction
on those who are not vigilant, and the world is filled with storms and disturbances by
those who are reckoned as Christians.

{Now the council strikes out on its own}

This is what happened in recent times through the folly, cunning and evil machinations
of the wretched Photius. He entered the sheepfold not through the door but through a
window, and, like a thief or a robber, a destroyer of souls, as the Lord's words indicate,
has tried, on every occasion and by every means, to steal, slaughter and destroy the
right-thinking sheep of Christ and, by engineering all manner of persecution, he has not
ceased from contriving numerous arrests and imprisonments, confiscations of property,
protracted periods of exile and, in addition to these, accusations, charges, false
testimonies and forgeries against all who worked for true religion and fought for the
truth. For he, like another Severus or Dioscorus, engineered the expulsion of the most
just, lawful and canonically appointed high priest of the church of Constantinople, namely
the most holy patriarch Ignatius, and like an adulterous robber, breaking into his see and
repeatedly submitting him to a thousand charges involving dethronement and as many
anathemas, he roused continuous turmoil and storms for all the churches of Christ our
saviour, in a multiplicity of ways.

However, the salt of the earth has not lost its savour, nor has the eye of the church
become completely darkened, nor has the light of true religion been extinguished by the
spirits of wickedness; nor has the fire of divine charity lost its destroying and burning
power over sinful and worthless material, nor has the word of the Lord, which is sharper
than a two-edged sword and a discerner of thoughts, been found ineffectual, nor did the
foundation of solid stone collapse when submerged by swollen waters and floods of rivers
and storms, but the precious cornerstone, which was laid down in Sion, that is, in the
church, upon which the foundation stone of the apostles and prophets was laid for the
building up of the church, in our time has sent out from every one of the church's
established ranks, even into the ruling city, the new Rome, many other stones rolling over
the land, as the prophet says, to destroy and lay waste the intrigues of those who desired
and attempted to destroy truth and divine justice.

But with greater force and particular significance, Nicholas, the most blessed and
aptly-named pope of old Rome, was sent from above as another cornerstone for the church,
preserving as far as possible the figurative likeness, as from an exalted and pre-eminent
place, to confront the carefully organised opposition of Photius. By the missiles of his
letters and speeches, he struck down the powerful leading supporters of Photius and,
reflecting a story of the old Testament, after the manner of the zealot Phinehas, he
pierced Photius with the lance of truth as if he were another Midianite defiling the
assembly of Israel; and he completely destroyed him on his not [added in Hrd [1]] agreeing
to accept the remedies of a healing discipline aimed at treating the scars and healing the
adulterous wound, and just as another Peter dealt with Ananias and Sapphira, who stole
what belonged to God, by an anathema included as it were in his priestly dignity, he
committed him to death.

Following these directives and decrees, the most religious friend of Christ, our
emperor, whom the heavenly Emperor and Lord of majesty has raised up for the salvation of
the world, has consigned Photius to a suitable place and recalled the most holy patriarch
Ignatius to his rightful seat. Furthermore, for the perfect discernment and definition of
what is agreed to be good and is beneficial, he has gathered together vicars from all the
patriarchal seats and the whole college of bishops which is under his authority. Those of
us who came together have celebrated this great and universal synod and, with much
examination, testing and discussion, with due care and consistency, we have cut out with
the sword of the spirit the roots of scandals and weeds along with their shoots, as we
establish the truly innocent and most holy patriarch Ignatius in the controlling seat,
while we condemn Photius, the interloper and illegal occupier with all his supporters and
promoters of evil. For almighty God says somewhere by the mouth of a prophet: Because of
the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will do no more to love
them. Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit; and again:
Canaan, there is a deceitful balance in his hand, he has loved oppression. And Ephraim
said: But yet I am become rich, I have found for myself a place of repose: all his labours
shall not find me, despite the iniquities that I have committed; and again: And the house
of Jacob shall possess their own possessions. The house of Jacob shall be afire and the
house of Joseph aflame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume
them, and there shall be no survivor to the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken.

For the wretched Photius was truly like the person who did not make God his refuge; but
trusted in the abundance of his cunning and sought refuge in the vanity of his iniquities,
following the example of Ephraim of old, in turning his back on the divine mercy; the word
of the prophet mocks and derides him, saying: Ephraim is become as bread baked under
ashes, that is not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength and he knew it not, grey
hairs also are spread upon him, and he is ignorant of it. He shall be humbled by the
insult of Israel before his face; and in all this he has not returned to the Lord, his
God. Ephraim is become as a dove, that called upon the table of Egypt and went to the
Assyrians. When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them as upon the birds of the
air; I will bring them down, I will strike them to make their tribulation heard. For
Photius was lifted up to the heights of arrogance in attacking the most blessed pope of
old Rome, Nicholas, and he vomited out the poison of his evil. He gathered together false
vicars from three supposedly eastern sees, set up what was thought to be a synodical
council, and, making lists of the names of accusers and witnesses, fashioning profiles and
speeches which seemed to be suited to each person who plays a part in a synodical
investigation, and making up, writing down and organizing forged records as accounts of
those proceedings, he had the audacity to anathematize the aforementioned most blessed
pope Nicholas and all those in communion with him. Photius did this in such a way that as
a result all the existing bishops and priests, that is, the other patriarchal sees and all
the clerics within them, were included in the same anathema, for all were most certainly
in communion with the leading bishop, and amongst them himself and his followers. The word
of the prophet condemns and refutes him when it says: They have multiplied their
transgressions, they have enacted extraneous laws and invoked their confession; and again:
They conceived in their heart lying words and turned justice back, and righteousness has
stood afar off from them; for truth has been destroyed in their streets and they have been
unable to follow the right path. Truth has disappeared and changed their mind so that it
cannot understand. And: He who turns from evil is attacked, and the Lord saw and it
displeased him because there was no judgment, and again: Thus says the Lord: For three
transgressions of Judah and for four, I will grant them no reprieve; because they have
rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his statutes. Therefore, as regards the man
who has acted in this way and has disturbed and shaken the whole holy, catholic and
apostolic church with so many brazen attacks of this kind, has utterly refused to be
converted and repent, and has refused to submit to the decrees and judgment of the holy
patriarchal sees, just as long ago the most blessed pope Nicholas and then his successor,
the most holy pope Hadrian, anathematized him, so too this holy and universal synod
has reproved him and put him under an ever severer anathema while addressing to him, in
the person of all God's people, the words of the prophet Isaiah: Just as a garment soiled
in blood will not be clean, so you will not be clean, for you have defiled the church of
Christ and have been a source of scandal and destruction to the people of God on many
counts and in many ways. We command that those who do not share this view, but give
Photius their willing support, if they are bishops or clerics, must be deposed for ever;
we anathematize monks or lay people, until such time as they are converted from their
false ways and wickedness.

Canons

1

If we wish to proceed without offence along the true and royal road of divine justice,
we must keep the declarations and teachings of the holy fathers as if they were so many
lamps which are always alight and illuminating our steps which are directed towards God.
Therefore, considering and esteeming these as a second word of God, in accordance with the
great and most wise Denis, let us sing most willingly along with the divinely inspired
David, The commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes, and, Your word is a
lamp to my feet and a light to my paths; and with the author of Proverbs we say, Your
commandment is a lamp and your law a light, and like Isaiah we cry to the lord God with
loud voice, because your commands are a light for the earth. For the exhortations and
warnings of the divine canons are rightly likened to light inasmuch as the better is
distinguished from the worse and what is advantageous and useful is distinguished from
what is not helpful but harmful.

Therefore we declare that we are preserving and maintaining the canons which have been
entrusted to the holy, catholic and apostolic church by the holy and renowned apostles,
and by universal as well as local councils of orthodox [bishops], and even by any inspired
father or teacher of the church. Consequently, we rule our own life and conduct by these
canons and we decree that all those who have the rank of priests and all those who are
described by the name of Christian are, by ecclesiastical law, included under the
penalties and condemnations as well as, on the other hand, the absolutions and acquittals
which have been imposed and defined by them. For Paul, the great apostle, openly urges us
to preserve the traditions which we have received, either by word or by letter, of the
saints who were famous in times past.

2

Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as
persons who will have to give account, commands Paul, the great apostle. So, having both
the most blessed pope Nicholas as the instrument of the holy Spirit and his successor, the
most holy pope Hadrian, we declare and order that everything which has been expounded and
promulgated by them in a synod at various times, both for the defence and well-being of
the church of Constantinople and of its chief priest, namely Ignatius, its most holy
patriarch, as well as for the expulsion and condemnation of Photius, the upstart and
usurper, should be maintained and observed together with the canons there set forth,
unchanged and unaltered, and no bishop, priest or deacon or anyone from the ranks of the
clergy should dare to overturn or reject any of these things.

Whoever, then, shall be found, after these directives of ours, despising any of the
articles or decrees which have been promulgated by these popes, must be stripped of his
dignity and rank, if he is a priest or cleric; a monk or lay person, of whatever dignity,
must be excommunicated until he repents and promises to observe all the decrees in
question.

3

We decree that the sacred image of our lord Jesus Christ, the redeemer and saviour of
all people, should be venerated with honour equal to that given to the book of the holy
gospels. For, just as through the written words which are contained in the book, we all
shall obtain salvation, so through the influence that colours in painting exercise on the
imagination, all, both wise and simple, obtain benefit from what is before them; for as
speech teaches and portrays through syllables, so too does painting by means of colours.
It is only right then, in accordance with true reason and very ancient tradition, that
icons should be honoured and venerated in a derivative way because of the honour which is
given to their archetypes, and it should be equal to that given to the sacred book of the
holy gospels and the representation of the precious cross.

If anyone then does not venerate the icon of Christ, the saviour, let him not see his
face when he comes in his father's glory to be glorified and to glorify his saints', but
let him be cut off from his communion and splendour; similarly the image of Mary, his
immaculate mother and mother of God, we also paint the icons of the holy angels just as
divine scripture depicts them in words; we also honour and venerate those of the highly
renowned apostles, prophets, martyrs and holy men as well as those of all the saints. Let
those who are not so disposed be anathema from the Father, the Son and the holy Spirit.

4

In tearing up by the roots the love of power, as being an evil root nourishing the
scandals which have arisen in the church, we condemn, with a just decree, him who boldly,
cunningly and unlawfully, like a dangerous wolf, leapt into the sheepfold of Christ; we
are speaking about Photius, who has filled the whole world with a thousand upheavals and
disturbances. We declare that he never was nor is now a bishop, nor must those, who were
consecrated or given advancement by him to any grade of the priesthood, remain in that
state to which they were promoted. Moreover, we debar from this kind of preferment those
who received from Photius the customary rescripts for promotion to special office.

As for the churches which Photius and those who were ordained by him are thought to
have consecrated and the altars which they are thought to have renovated after they had
been torn down, we decree that they are to be consecrated, anointed and renovated again.
In sum, everything that was done in his person and by him, for the establishing or
penalizing of the sacerdotal state, has been abrogated. For the God of the whole universe
says through his prophet: Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a
priest to me and, You have forgotten the laws of your God, I also will forget your
children. The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; I will change their
glory into shame. They feed on the sin of my people; they bloat their souls with their
iniquities. And again he says: Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they
have become to him altars for sins; I will write copiously about them.

5

Since we desire to ensure, in Christ, that the stability of the canons should always
remain firm in the churches, we renew and confirm the limits and conditions which were
formerly decreed by the holy apostles and our holy fathers and which made it a law in the
church that nobody, who is a neophyte in the faith or priestly office, should be made a
bishop, lest he be puffed up and fall into the judgment and snare of the devil, as the
Apostle says. Therefore, in accordance with the previous canons, we declare that nobody of
senatorial rank or a secular way of life, who has recently been admitted to the tonsure
with the intention or expectation of the honour of becoming a bishop or patriarch, and who
has been made a cleric or monk, should rise to such a level, even if he is shown to have
completed a considerable time in each stage of the divine priesthood. For it is clear that
the tonsure was not received for religious reasons, love of God or hope of progressing
along the path of the virtues, but for love of glory and honour. We exclude such people
still more rigorously if they are pushed forward by imperial backing.

However, if someone gives no suspicion of seeking the worldly benefits just mentioned,
but, prompted by the actual good of a humility which is centered on Christ, renounces the
world and becomes a cleric or monk and, while passing through every ecclesiastical grade,
is found without reproach and of good character during the periods of time currently
established, so that he completes one year in the order of lector, two in that of
subdeacon, three as deacon and four as priest, this holy and universal synod has decreed
that such a one may be chosen and admitted. As for those who have remained religiously in
the order of cleric or monk and have been judged worthy of the dignity and honour of the
episcopacy, we reduce the aforesaid period of time to that which the superiors of these
bishops approved at the time. If, however, anyone has been advanced to this supreme honour
contrary to this directive of ours, he must be condemned and completely excluded from all
priestly functions, because he has been elevated contrary to the sacred canons.

6

It appears that Photius, after the sentences and condemnations most justly pronounced
against him by the most holy pope Nicholas for his criminal usurpation of the church of
Constantinople, in addition to his other evil deeds, found some men of wicked and
sycophantic character from the squares and streets of the city and proposed and designated
them as vicars of the three most holy patriarchal sees in the east. He formed with these a
church of evil-doers and a fraudulent council and set in motion accusations and charges
entailing deposition against the most blessed pope Nicholas and repeatedly, impudently and
boldly issued anathemas against him and all those in communion with him. The records of
all these things have been seen by us, records which were cobbled together by him with
evil intent and lying words, and all of which have been burnt during this very synod.

Therefore, to safeguard church order, we anathematize first and foremost the
above-mentioned Photius for the reason given; next everyone who henceforth acts
deceitfully and fraudulently and falsifies the word of truth and goes through the motions
of having false vicars or composes books full of deceptions and explains them in favour of
his own designs. With equal vigour Martin, the most holy pope of Rome, a valiant contender
for the true faith, rejected behaviour of this kind by a synodal decree.

7

Moses, the divine spokesman, clearly declares in his law that what is right should also
be rightly executed, since a good act is not good unless it is carried out in accordance
with reason. So it is indeed good and very advantageous to paint holy and venerable images
as also to teach others the disciplines of divine and human wisdom. But it is not good nor
at all profitable for any of these things to be done by those who are unworthy.

For this reason we declare and proclaim that those declared anathema by this holy and
universal synod may not, on any account, work on sacred images in holy places of worship
nor teach anywhere at all, until they are converted from their error and wickedness.
Whoever, therefore, after this directive of ours, admits them in any way to paint sacred
images in churches, or to teach, must be removed from office if he is a cleric; if he is a
lay person, he must be excommunicated and debarred from taking part in the divine
mysteries.

8

The great apostle Paul says somewhere: All things are lawful for me, but not all things
are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial. Therefore,
we ought to do everything for the advantage and perfection of the holy church of God and
nothing at all to promote controversy and vainglory. Since a report has come to our ears
that not only heretics and those who have wrongly obtained the patriarchate of
Constantinople, but also the orthodox and legitimate patriarchs, demand and extract from
the order of priests guarantees, written in their own hands, which are designed for the
security, benefit and, as it were, permanence of the above persons, it has therefore
seemed good to this holy and universal synod that nobody at all should do this from now
on, with the exception of what is demanded at the time of episcopal consecrations,
according to rule and custom, in order to witness to the purity of our faith; every other
way of doing it is completely inappropriate and has no part in the building up of the
church. So whoever dares to nullify this directive of ours, either by asking for such a
document or by providing it to those who ask, shall lose his own office.

9

From the very beginning the wretched Photius brought about in the church of
Constantinople an abundance of all kinds of wickedness. We have learnt that even before
his tyrannical period in office he used to give documents, signed by his own hand, to his
followers who were learning the wisdom that has been made foolish by God, even though this
system was clearly a new invention and thoroughly alien to our holy fathers and doctors of
the church.

Since therefore they direct us to loose every bond of wickedness and to make void
enforced contracts, the holy and universal synod has declared that nobody, from now on,
should hold or keep such a contract, but all, without hindrance, hesitation or fear, may
both teach and study if they are competent for either task, with the exception of those
who are found to be enslaved to error or heretical beliefs since we strictly forbid such
persons to teach or to pursue studies. If anyone shall be found rejecting and
transgressing against this directive, he shall lose his rank if he is a cleric; if a lay
person, he shall be excommunicated as one who does not believe the Lord's word which says,
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven .

10

As divine scripture clearly proclaims, Do not find fault before you investigate, and
understand first and then find fault, and does our law judge a person without first giving
him a hearing and learning what he does?. Consequently this holy and universal synod
justly and fittingly declares and lays down that no lay person or monk or cleric should
separate himself from communion with his own patriarch before a careful enquiry and
judgment in synod, even if he alleges that he knows of some crime perpetrated by his
patriarch, and he must not refuse to include his patriarch's name during the divine
mysteries or offices.

In the same way we command that bishops and priests who are in distant dioceses and
regions should behave similarly towards their own metropolitans, and metropolitans should
do the same with regard to their own patriarchs. If anyone shall be found defying this
holy synod, he is to be debarred from all priestly functions and status if he is a bishop
or cleric; if a monk or lay person, he must be excluded from all communion and meetings of
the church until he is converted by repentance and reconciled.

11

Though the old and new Testament teach that a man or woman has one rational and
intellectual soul, and all the fathers and doctors of the church, who are spokesmen of
God, express the same opinion, some have descended to such a depth of irreligion, through
paying attention to the speculations of evil people, that they shamelessly teach as a
dogma that a human being has two souls, and keep trying to prove their heresy by
irrational means using a wisdom that has been made foolishness.

Therefore this holy and universal synod is hastening to uproot this wicked theory now
growing like some loathsome form of weed. Carrying in its hand the winnowing fork of
truth, with the intention of consigning all the chaff to inextinguishable fire, and making
clean the threshing floor of Christ, in ringing tones it declares anathema the inventors
and perpetrators of such impiety and all those holding similar views; it also declares and
promulgates that nobody at all should hold or preserve in any way the written teaching of
the authors of this impiety. If however anyone presumes to act in a way contrary to this
holy and great synod, let him be anathema and an outcast from the faith and way of life of
Christians.

12

The apostolic and conciliar canons clearly forbid the nomination and consecration of
bishops which have come about as a result of the power and intrigues of the civil
authorities. Therefore we declare and proclaim, in full agreement with them, that if any
bishop has received his consecration through the manipulation and constraint of such
persons, he should be deposed absolutely as one who has desired and consented to have the
gift of God not from the will of God and ecclesiastical law and decree, but from human
beings and through their machinations as a result of the prompting of carnal desire.

13

The divine word says, The worker is worthy of his pay For this reason we too decree and
proclaim that the clerics of the great church [of Constantinople], who have served in the
lower orders, may rise to the higher grades and, if they have shown themselves worthy, may
deservedly enjoy higher dignities, since some of those who now enjoy them either will be
called through promotion to more important duties or will vacate them by dying. But those
who do not belong to this particular clergy and yet insinuate themselves into it, must not
receive the dignities and honours due to those who have laboured in it a long time, for in
that case the clerics of the church [of Constantinople] would be found to have no
promotion.

Those who manage the houses or estates of leading persons must by no means have the
possibility of being admitted or inducted into the clergy of the great church [of
Constantinople]: No soldier on service for God gets entangled in civilian pursuits. If
indeed anyone, contrary to the directive we have now issued, is promoted to any dignity
whatsoever in this great church, he must be excluded from all ecclesiastical dignity as
one who has been promoted contrary to the decision of the great synod.

14

We declare that those who are called by divine grace to the office of bishop, since
they bear the image and likeness of the holy hierarchies in heaven, that is of the angels,
in accordance with what is clearly an hierarchical dignity and function, should be held as
worthy of all honour on the part of everyone, rulers and ruled alike.

We also declare that they must not go to meet a general or any other high official a
long way from their churches, nor should they dismount from their horses or mules a long
way off or bow down in fear and trembling and prostrate themselves; nor should they go to
table for dinner with secular dignitaries and show the same honours as they do to
generals, but according to what is in keeping with their own spiritual dignity and honour,
they should render to everyone his due: Tribute to whom tribute is due, honour to whom
honour is due. They must show that the confessors of the emperors, who are friends of
Christ, and those who have the same dignity, deserve great respect from the leading
persons of those emperors. Thus the bishop will have the courage to reprimand generals and
other leading officials and all other secular authorities as often as he finds them doing
something unjust or unreasonable, and in this way to correct them and make them better.

But if some bishop, after the holy directive of this council, shall ignore the honour
duly and canonically bestowed on him, and permits something to happen according to the
old, debased and disordered custom which is contrary to what has now been declared, he
must be suspended for a year and the official involved is to be considered unworthy to
take part in the mysteries or the means of grace for two years.

15

This holy and universal synod, in renewing the canons of the apostles and fathers, has
decreed that no bishop may sell or in any way dispose of precious objects or consecrated
vessels except for the reason laid down long ago by the ancient canons, that is to say,
objects received for the redemption of captives. They must not hand over endowments of
churches by emphyteutic leases nor put on sale other agricultural properties, thereby
damaging ecclesiastical revenues. We decree that such revenues are for church purposes,
the feeding of the poor and the assistance of pilgrims. However, bishops have full powers
to improve and enlarge, as opportunity offers, the ecclesiastical properties which produce
these revenues. Moreover, they have the right to apportion or bestow their own property on
whomsoever they wish and choose, in accordance with their own powers and rights of
ownership.

Now that this decree has been made, whoever appears to have acted in a way contrary to
this holy and universal synod, must be deposed on the grounds of violating divine law and
precepts. Any sale which was made by the bishop, either in writing or otherwise, must be
made entirely void, as well as any emphyteutic lease or any other act disposing of
precious objects or endowments. Whoever buys or acquires any of the aforementioned
precious objects or endowments and does not restore to the church what belongs to it and
does not hand over for burning the bills of sale or leases, is anathema until he does what
has been determined by this holy and universal synod.

If a bishop is found guilty of having built a monastery with the revenues of a church,
he must hand over the monastery to the same church. But if he built it from his own money
or other sources, he may have it for his whole life under his own jurisdiction and
direction; he may also bequeath it after his death to whomsoever he wishes, but it may not
be used as a secular dwelling.

16

A matter which merits great sorrow, even many tears, has come to our ears from many of
the faithful. They say that under the previous emperor some laymen of the senatorial order
were seen to plait their hair and arrange it on their heads, and to adopt a kind of
priestly dignity in accordance with their different ranks at the emperor's court. They did
this by wearing various ornaments and articles of clothing which are proper to priests
and, as it was thought, made themselves out to be bishops by wearing a pallium over their
shoulders and every other piece of episcopal dress. They also adopted as their patriarch
the one who took the leading role in these buffooneries. They insulted and made a mockery
of a variety of holy things, such as elections, promotions and consecrations of bishops,
or by bringing up subtle but false accusations against bishops, and condemning and
deposing them, switching in turn from distress to collusion as prosecutors and defendants.

Such a way of behaving has never been heard of since time began, even among the pagans.
It shows that those we have now brought to light are in a worse and more wretched state
than the pagan nations. The sacred and universal synod, therefore, has declared and
promulgated that these attempts to do evil must be condemned as crimes, and no member of
the faithful who bears the name of Christian should henceforth attempt to do or tolerate
such a thing, or to protect by silence anyone who has committed such an impious act. If
any emperor or any powerful or influential person should attempt to mock holy things in
such a way, or with evil intent to carry out or permit such a great wrong to be done
against the divine priesthood, he must first be condemned by the patriarch of the time,
acting with his fellow bishops, and be excommunicated and declared unworthy to share in
the divine mysteries, and then he must accept certain other corrective practices and
penances which are judged appropriate. Unless he repents quickly, he must be declared
anathema by this holy and universal synod as one who has dishonoured the mystery of the
pure and spotless faith.

However, if the patriarch of Constantinople and his suffragan bishops come to know of
any others who have committed crimes of this kind and neglect to act against them with the
necessary zeal, they must be deposed and debarred from the dignity of their priesthood.
Those who in any way have shown, or shall show in future, such impious conduct and have
not confessed it in any way and received the appropriate penance, are declared
excommunicate by this synod for three years; during the first year they must remain
outside the church as public penitents, during the second year they may stand inside the
church among the. ranks of the catechumens, during the third year they may join the
faithful and thus become worthy of the sanctifying effects of the holy mysteries.

17

The first, holy and universal synod of Nicaea orders that the ancient custom should be
preserved throughout Egypt and the provinces subject to her, so that the bishop of
Alexandria has them all under his authority; it declares, "Because such a custom has
prevailed in the city of Rome". Therefore this great and holy synod decrees that in
old and new Rome and the sees of Antioch and Jerusalem the ancient custom must be
preserved in all things, so that their prelates should have authority over all the
metropolitans whom they promote or confirm in the episcopal dignity, either through the
imposition of hands or the bestowal of the pallium; that is to say, the authority to
summon them, in case of necessity, to a meeting in synod or even to reprimand and correct
them, when a report about some wrongdoing leads to an accusation.

But since some metropolitans give as an excuse for not responding to the summons of
their apostolic prelate that they are detained by their temporal rulers, it has been
decided that such an excuse will be utterly invalid. For since a ruler frequently holds
meetings for his own purposes, it is intolerable that he should prevent leading prelates
from going to synods for ecclesiastical business or hold some back from their meetings. We
have learnt, however, that such an obstacle and alleged refusal of permission can come
about in various ways at the suggestion of the metropolitan.

Metropolitans have had the custom of holding synods twice a year and therefore, they
say, they cannot possibly come to the chief one, that of the patriarch. But this holy and
universal synod, without forbidding the meetings held by the metropolitans, is conscious
that the synods summoned by the patriarchal see are more necessary and profitable than the
metropolitan ones, and so demands that they take place. A metropolitan synod affects the
good order of only one province, a patriarchal synod often affects the good order of a
whole civil diocese, and in this way the common good is provided for. So it is fitting
that the common good take priority over a particular one, especially when the summons to
meet has been issued by those of greater authority. The fact is that certain metropolitans
seem to regard with contempt the ancient custom and canonical tradition, by their not
meeting together for the common good. Therefore the laws of the church demand, with severe
penalties and leaving no loop-hole, that they comply with the summons of their patriarchs
whether they are summoned as a body or individually.

We refuse to listen to the offensive claim made by some ignorant people that a synod
cannot be held in the absence of the civil authorities. The reason for this is that the
sacred canons have never prescribed the presence of secular rulers at synods but only the
presence of bishops. Hence we find that they have not been present at synods but only at
universal councils. Furthermore, it is not right that secular rulers should be observers
of matters that sometimes come before the priests of God.

Therefore, if any metropolitan ignores his patriarch and disobeys his summons, whether
addressed to him alone or to several or to all, unless prevented by a genuine illness or a
pagan invasion, and for two whole months after notice of the summons makes no attempt to
visit his patriarch, or if he hides in some way or pretends he has no knowledge of the
patriarch's summons, he must be excommunicated. If he shows the same stubbornness and
disobedience for a year, he must be unconditionally deposed and suspended from all
sacerdotal functions and excluded from the dignity and honour that belong to
metropolitans. If any metropolitan disobeys even this directive, let him be anathema.

18

This holy and great synod has decided that the goods or privileges which belong to the
churches of God as a result of long enduring custom and have been granted, whether in
writing or not, by emperors of revered memory or by other religious people and possessed
by the churches for thirty years, must in no way be removed by force on the part of any
secular person, or taken away by him on any pretext whatsoever, from the jurisdiction of
the prelate who has them. Whatever is known to have been possessed by the churches for
thirty years must remain subject to the control and use of the prelate of the church. Any
secular person who acts in a way contrary to this present decree shall be ad judged as one
who commits sacrilege and, until he reforms himself and restores or gives back the
privileges and goods belonging to the church, let him be anathema.

19

Paul, the great apostle, condemns greed as another form of idolatry and wants all who
unite under the name of Christian to abstain from every form of shameful love of gain. It
is all the more wrong, therefore, for those who have the ministry of the priesthood to
burden their fellow-bishops and suffragans in any way whatsoever.

For this reason this holy and universal synod has decreed that no archbishop or
metropolitan should leave his own church and visit other churches under the pretext of an
official visitation, nor abuse his authority over other churches and consume the revenues
which they have at their disposal and for feeding the poor, and thus, by a form of greed,
be a burden to the consciences of our brothers and fellow ministers. An exception is made
in the case of hospitality, which may sometimes arise on account of necessary travel. But
even then he must accept, with reverence and fear of God, nothing else than what is found
prepared from that which is currently at hand. He should quickly continue the journey he
has undertaken without asking or demanding any at all of the things which belong to that
church or the suffragan bishop. For if the sacred canons decree that every bishop should
be sparing in his use of what belongs to his own church, and should no way spend or
consume the ecclesiastical revenues in an unfitting or unreasonable way for his own
advantage, what kind of impiety do you think he will be found guilty of if he has no
scruples about going around and burdening the churches entrusted to other bishops and
thereby incurring the charge of sacrilege ?

Whoever attempts to do such a thing, after this directive of ours, shall incur from the
patriarch of the time the punishment commensurate with his unjust and greedy behaviour,
and shall be deposed and excommunicated as the sacrilegious person he is or, to put it
otherwise, as an idolater, according to the teaching of the great Apostle.

20

It has come to the ears of this holy synod that in certain places some, on their own
authority and without the agreement of those who are entrusted with such decisions,
callously and mercilessly expel people who have received some of their lands by
emphyteusis, on the pretext that the contract about the agreed rent has been broken.

This must not be allowed to happen unless the person who made the emphyteutic contract
first listens to the objections through the mediation of some suitable and trustworthy
persons. Then, if the leaseholder has not paid for three years the rent due, he may be
expelled from his lands. But it is necessary, after the rent has been unpaid for three
years, to go to the authorities of the city or region and bring before them a charge
against the person who obtained the emphyteutic lease, and to show how he has defaulted.
Only then, after the decision and judgment of the officials, may the church take back its
property. Nobody may effect the confiscation of the aforesaid lands on his own initiative
and authority, since this would be a sign of the worst form of profiteering and greed.

So, if any bishop or metropolitan, contrary to this directive of ours, confiscates any
property from anyone, thinking he is protecting his own church, let him be suspended by
his patriarch for a time, having first restored what he took away. If he persists in his
disobedience to the decision of this holy universal synod, he must be completely removed
from office.

21

We believe that the saying of the Lord that Christ addressed to his holy apostles and
disciples, Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever despises you despises me, was
also addressed to all who were likewise made supreme pontiffs and chief pastors in
succession to them in the catholic church. Therefore we declare that no secular powers
should treat with disrespect any of those who hold the office of patriarch or seek to move
them from their high positions, but rather they should esteem them as worthy of all honour
and reverence. This applies in the first place to the most holy pope of old Rome, secondly
to the patriarch of Constantinople, and then to the patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch and
Jerusalem. Furthermore, nobody else should compose or edit writings or tracts against the
most holy pope of old Rome, on the pretext of making incriminating charges, as Photius did
recently and Dioscorus a long time ago. Whoever shows such great arrogance and audacity,
after the manner of Photius and Dioscorus, and makes false accusations in writing or
speech against the see of Peter, the chief of the apostles, let him receive a punishment
equal to theirs.

If, then, any ruler or secular authority tries to expel the aforesaid pope of the
apostolic see, or any of the other patriarchs, let him be anathema. Furthermore, if a
universal synod is held and any question or controversy arises about the holy church of
Rome, it should make inquiries with proper reverence and respect about the question raised
and should find a profitable solution; it must on no account pronounce sentence rashly
against the supreme pontiffs of old Rome.

22

This holy and universal synod declares and decrees, in agreement with earlier councils,
that the promotion and consecration of bishops should be done by means of an election and
decision of the college of bishops. So it promulgates as law that no lay authority or
ruler may intervene in the election or promotion of a patriarch, a metropolitan or any
bishop, lest there be any irregularity leading to improper confusion or quarrelling,
especially since it is wrong for any ruler or other lay person to have any influence in
such matters. Rather he should be silent and mind his own business until the election of
the future bishop has been completed with due process by the ecclesiastical assembly. But
if any lay person is invited by the church to join in the discussion and to help with the
election, he is permitted to accept the invitation with respect, if he so wishes. For in
this way he may be able to promote a worthy pastor in a regular manner, to the benefit of
his church.

If any secular authority or ruler, or a lay person of any other status, attempts to act
against the common, agreed and canonical method of election in the church, let him be
anathema- this is to last until he obeys and agrees to what the church shows it wants
concerning the election and appointment of its leader.

23

We have also learnt that some bishops, at the request of certain people, have
unreasonably made a gift of properties belonging to other churches. Thus they usurp the
authority of other bishops, so far as they can. This conduct will clearly bring on them
the curse of the prophet who says, Woe to those who add house to house and field to field
in order to defraud their neighbour, and it has made them guilty of sacrilege. For this
reason, this great and universal synod has decided that no brother of ours in the
episcopate or anyone else may transact such a wicked property deal, nor, if asked by
someone, dispose of any property belonging to other churches, nor install priests or any
other clerics in churches that are not under his jurisdiction, without the permission of
the bishop responsible for the church in question. Furthermore, no priests or deacons, who
are consecrated for holy functions, should perform, of their own accord and decision, any
sacred functions in churches to which they have not been appointed from the beginning.
This behaviour is unlawful and utterly alien to the canonical regulations.

Whoever, after this declaration of ours, shall be seen to do any of these things which
have now been forbidden, must be excommunicated for a period of time, and the contractual
arrangements, whether written or not, must be completely dissolved and abrogated because
they were made in contravention of the canons. Likewise, the priest or deacon is to be
suspended until he withdraws from the church to which he does not belong. But if he
ignores the suspension, he must be got rid of completely and dispossessed of every sacred
office.

24

Divine scripture says, Cursed is everyone who does the work of the Lord with slackness
Yet some metropolitans have fallen into the depths of negligence and sloth. They summon
the bishops subject to their jurisdiction and commit to them the divine offices of their
own church as well as litanies and all the sacred ministries which are personal to
themselves. The consequence is that they celebrate through the agency of these bishops
everything they should readily do themselves. In this way they make those who have merited
the dignity of bishop seem like clerics in their service.

These metropolitans, contrary to church law, give themselves to secular business and
administration, failing to persevere in prayers and petitions for their own sins and the
ignorance of their people. Some excuse this behaviour even though it is utterly and
completely contrary to canonical regulations. What is still more serious, it is said that
the bishops are told to complete the above ministries at allotted times each month at
their own expense. This is totally alien to all apostolic sanction. All this makes such
people worthy of the most severe condemnation possible, for they are shown by their
actions to be infected by a form of satanic pride and arrogance.

Any metropolitan who, after this directive of the holy and universal synod, is consumed
by a similar pride, arrogance or contempt and does not carry out with fear, promptitude
and a good conscience the necessary ministries in his own city, but seeks to carry them
out through his suffragan bishops, must be punished by his patriarch and be either
reformed or deposed.

25

The holy synod has duly decided that the bishops, priests, deacons and subdeacons of
the great church [of Constantinople], who received their consecration from Methodius and
Ignatius, the most holy patriarchs, and became hard of heart like the arrogant and
unfeeling heart of Pharaoh, and even now are in complete disagreement with this holy and
universal synod and, while rejecting harmony with us in the word of truth, have
wholeheartedly supported the cause of the usurper Photius, must be deposed and suspended
from all sacerdotal functions, just as the most blessed pope Nicholas decreed not long
ago. On no account are such men to be readmitted into the ranks of the clergy, even if
they wish in future to change their ways. An exception will be made in regard to receiving
the means of holiness, and it is only our mercy which makes us think that they are worthy
of this. They do not deserve to have the opportunity of being restored by their repentance
to their former status, as is illustrated by the case of the odious Esau, though he begged
in tears for that favour.

26

This holy synod has also decided that any priest or deacon who has been deposed by his
bishop for some crime, or who alleges he has suffered some kind of injustice and is not
satisfied with the judgment of his bishop, saying that he does not trust him and that he
has been wronged, either because of the enmity which the bishop has for him or because of
favours the bishop wants to bestow on certain others, such a person has the right to have
recourse to the metropolitan of his province and to denounce his deposition from office,
which he thinks is unjust, or any other injury. The metropolitan should be willing to take
up such cases and to summon the bishop who has deposed the cleric or injured him in any
way. He should examine the case himself, with the help of other bishops, so as either to
confirm the deposition of the cleric beyond all doubt, or to quash it by means of a
general synod and the judgment of many persons.

In the same way we decree that bishops may have recourse to the patriarch, their head,
if they complain that they have suffered similar things from their metropolitan, so that
the business in question may receive a just and right decision from their patriarch and
the metropolitans under him. No metropolitan bishop may be judged by his neighbouring
metropolitan bishops, even though it is alleged that he has committed serious crimes, but
he may only be judged by his own patriarch; we decree that this judgment will be just and
beyond suspicion because a number of esteemed people will be gathered around the
patriarch, and for this reason his judgment will be fully ratified and confirmed. If
anyone does not, agree with what we have promulgated, let him be excommunicated.

27

We decree that, in ecclesiastical promotions and consecrations, the marks which signify
the rank to which each person belongs, should be kept, in accordance with the traditional
usages of each province, region and city. Thus bishops who have been permitted to wear the
pallium at certain times, may wear it at those times and places but should not abuse so
great and honourable a garment through pride, vainglory, human conceit and self-love, by
wearing it unnecessarily throughout the divine sacrifice and every other ecclesiastical
ceremony. We decree that those who have devoutly embraced the monastic life and merited
the dignity of a bishop, should keep the appearance and garments of the monastic habit and
that holy way of life. None of them has the right to lay aside that type of dress out of
pride and wilful arrogance, lest he is found thereby to violate his personal vows. Just as
the continual wearing of the pallium shows the bishop as given to ostentation and
vainglory, so the laying aside of the monastic habit exposes him to the same charges.

Therefore, any bishop who wears the pallium outside the occasions stipulated in
writing, or lays aside the monastic dress, must either be corrected or be deposed by his
patriarch.